Zero Waste Ireland needs your support for Zero Waste Week 2016

August 26th, 2016

Waste Campaigning organisation Zero Waste Ireland is making an appeal for support from the public and organisations for Zero Waste Week, from the 5th-9th September, 2016.

The charity, which advocates that waste be seen as a resource that is reused in a circular economy, is asking people, workplaces and communities to contribute to a social media campaign known as a ‘Thunderclap’, in which they share the efforts that they are taking towards producing zero waste. The principle of the Thunderclap is that all participants’ updates are shared on social media sites simultaneously, flooding people’s news feeds with positive zero waste messages and increasing the reach of the campaign. Participants sign up to the Thunderclap in advance, giving ONE TIME permission to Twitter or Facebook to share a post on your timeline in synchronisation with the other posts.

This action is part of International Zero Waste Week, which organiser Rachelle Strauss says is about encouraging people to throw less stuff away. “People don’t realise where waste goes when it is thrown away. It either sits in landfill for hundreds of years possibly causing local pollution or goes to the incinerator where the precious resource is lost forever.”

Zero Waste Week has been running since 2008, and has a different focus every year. “This year we’re focusing on food waste. One third of the food grown on the planet never reaches a human stomach. Embedded energy in the form of water, transportation and packaging is being thrown away. All this while one in nine people go to bed hungry,” said Ms. Strauss.

On their Facebook page, Zero Waste Ireland give some ideas for actions that can be taken for Zero Waste Week. “Try eliminating packaging from purchases, stop all or any food waste, ban the use of disposable containers like those ubiquitous paper/plastic coffee cups. Make a pledge and stick to it for a week… maybe you will keep the the habit after the week is over?”